September 12, 1906

September 12, 1906, is the date on which a seventeen-year-old James Gatz—who would later reinvent himself as Jay Gatsby—inscribed a personal schedule and a set of general resolves on the last fly-leaf of a ragged old copy of Hopalong Cassidy. This document, discovered after his death by his father, Henry C. Gatz, and shown to Nick Carraway, stands as the most intimate and revealing artifact of Gatsby's youth, a blueprint for the self-made man he was determined to become.

The Schedule and Resolves

The schedule, written under the heading "SCHEDULE" and the date "September 12, 1906," outlines a rigorous daily regimen. It begins with rising from bed at 6:00 A.M., followed by dumbbell exercise and wall-scaling from 6:15 to 6:30, then study of electricity and other subjects from 7:15 to 8:15. Work occupies the core of the day from 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M., after which baseball and sports are scheduled from 4:30 to 5:00. The evening includes practice in elocution, poise, and how to attain it from 5:00 to 6:00, and study of needed inventions from 7:00 to 9:00. Below the schedule, a list of "GENERAL RESOLVES" includes: no wasting time at Shafters or [a name, indecipherable], no more smoking or chewing, a bath every other day, reading one improving book or magazine per week, saving $5.00 (crossed out and replaced with $3.00) per week, and being better to parents.

Origins and Context

At the time he wrote this schedule, James Gatz was a poor, shiftless farm boy from North Dakota, whose parents were "shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" and whom his imagination had never really accepted as his parents at all. He had already been beating his way along the south shore of Lake Superior for over a year, working as a clam-digger and salmon-fisher, and had spent two weeks at St. Olaf College in southern Minnesota before dropping out, dismayed by its indifference to his destiny. The schedule reflects an instinct toward future glory that had already taken hold of him, a commitment to self-improvement that preceded his fateful encounter with Dan Cody's yacht, the Tuolomee, which would occur later that same year and mark the beginning of his career as Jay Gatsby.

Thematic Significance

The schedule and resolves embody the core of Gatsby's character: a belief in the power of self-discipline and systematic effort to transform one's identity and achieve greatness. The document reveals a young man who, even before he had any means or opportunity, was already constructing the person he intended to become. The crossed-out savings amount—from $5.00 to $3.00—suggests a pragmatic adjustment to reality, while the resolve to "be better to parents" hints at a lingering guilt about his eventual rejection of his family. The schedule's emphasis on physical exercise, study, and moral improvement echoes the Protestant work ethic and the American dream of self-reinvention, yet it also foreshadows the tragic gap between Gatsby's disciplined aspirations and the corrupt means he would later employ to realize them. The book itself, a copy of Hopalong Cassidy, a popular Western adventure story, underscores the romantic, almost mythic quality of Gatsby's self-conception—he was not merely planning a career but scripting a heroic narrative for his own life.

Legacy and Revelation

Henry C. Gatz, who discovered the book by accident, presented it to Nick Carraway as proof of his son's potential, reading each item aloud and looking eagerly for admiration. He remarked, "Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something," and noted that his son had once told him he "et like a hog," for which he beat him. The schedule thus becomes a poignant relic, a testament to the young James Gatz's earnest ambition that stands in stark contrast to the lavish but hollow world of Jay Gatsby's West Egg mansion. It is the only surviving document from Gatsby's boyhood, and it reveals that the man who would later buy a palace, throw extravagant parties, and pursue an impossible dream was, at his core, a boy who believed he could schedule his way to greatness.